Vista Is Not Where I Want To Go Today, Thanks.

[W]ith the hardware upgrades, the cost of Windows Vista and the need to update or upgrade software for compatibility reasons, your move to Vista could be pricey. (ComputerWorld)

I would encourage anyone who is even thinking about upgrading to Windows Vista to look at this article and consider the total cost of ownership of the operating system. Normally, I find TCO to be just a wet dream of someone's imagination because they do ignore the key issues, but this article does a good job of enumerating the things you have to look out for. In fact, on the first page, the author makes this key point:

"The truth is that your average late-model Windows XP machine that wasn't of the bargain-basement variety will probably run Vista. The problem is that it might do so at the expense of one of the few primary reasons to upgrade to Vista -- the improved graphical user interface...There isn't enough that's compelling in Vista to skip this particular improvement."

Vista has nothing compelling other than a pretty new interface. And this is not all that should scare you. The author makes these hardware recommendations, which I can assure you are the sweet spot for Vista: "Intel (or comparable AMD) 1.8GHz (minimum) Pentium 4 CPU, 2GB of RAM, 80GB hard drive (60GB if you're clean installing) and a DVD drive, a DirectX 9 (or better) 3D graphics processor that supports 32 bits per pixel, and Pixel Shader 2.0. It must also be offered with a WDDM (Windows Vista Display Driver Model) driver and should support no less than 256 MB of RAM."

Truly, we have reached the end of the world when the RAM on our video card equals or exceeds the RAM in most PCs bought between 2000 and 2005 and are still functioning today! Sure they may not be the fastest machines on the planet but there is nothing functionally wrong with them or what they can do. You can still type email and document, surf the web and download pictures.

And then there are the issues of software incompatibility with Vista. Normally Microsoft goes out of its way to make sure there are plenty of compatible programs in the pipeline well before it releases an operating system. I have to wonder if this time they goofed, especially given the number of operations that are rapidly telling people they do not support Vista because X, Y, and Z programs will not work and are critical to their business or to be able to access their business.

I can honestly say that Vista may be the tipping point for a number of people to find an alternative to Vista, whether that translates to remaining on XP, or moving to another operating system like Linux or Mac OS. Apple, are you listening? The time has come to stop playing with toys and step up, or you might miss the best opportunity you have had in decades to be a real player in the market place.

Vista could become the operating system that doomed Microsoft. While it is unlikely, it is clear that this is not an operating system for the faint of heart or the cheap of wallet. I guess there might be something to that theory that the $200 PC was more than Redmond could handle.